The 2020-21 NBA season is set to begin December 22, and a total of 72 regular-season games will be played by each team. The cut down comes as a direct result of the pandemic’s severity, but the league has issued a statement regarding the season’s possible cancellation. 

Commissioner Adam Silver and his team pulled off a massive event in Orlando when they hosted the playoffs and the finals without a single reported COVID-19 case. However, the league can’t pull off a regular-season in a closed bubble. Thus, the players will resume their normal routine when the upcoming season starts. 

What happens if players test positive for the virus?

There are certain scenarios when the league can get suspended, but there’s no detailed explanation on that part. But Adrian Wojnarowski posted an update on factors that won’t contribute to the cancellation of the entire season. 

“NBA says: Occurrence of independent cases (i.e, cases not spread among players or team staff) or a small or otherwise expected number of COVID-19 cases will not require a decision to suspend or cancel the 2020-21 season.”

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Sports leagues all over the world have been following a similar protocol. When one of the players test positive, they’re immediately put into isolation to avoid any further spread.

Furthermore, Tim Bontemps provided valuable information on how the league will deal with infected players. He wrote, “Per the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the 2020-21 season, if someone tests positive for COVID-19 there are two paths to them returning: either going at least 10 days since the first positive test or symptom onset, or having two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart.”

75th NBA season: Pre-season schedule and update on fans entering arenas

The league has released the complete list of the pre-season schedule. The first game starts on December 11 at 7:00 pm ET. Orlando Magic takes on the Atlanta Hawks in the opener and the schedule stretches till the 19th of the month.

A minimum of three games will take place every day. Moreover, December 18 will feature a total of eight pre-season fixtures. ESPN’s Malika Andrews informed that each team’s traveling party for the upcoming season is limited to 45 members (including players). 

Moving on, there is still a large uncertainty among fans entering arenas. Per a recent update, the Bucks have decided to host their home games in empty arenas until further notice. However, the Utah Jazz have decided to allow limited fans (1,500) in their arena. 

A lot of areas require clarity with regard to the 2020-21 season. The pandemic is making things complex, but at least the NBA is coming back!